Celebrating 25 Books Over 25 Years: Seeds of Change

LEE & LOW BOOKS celebrates its 25th anniversary this year and to recognize how far the company has come, we are featuring one title a week to see how it is being used in classrooms today. Today, we are featuring one of our most popular titles of all time, Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace.

Synopsis: As a young girl in Kenya, Wangari was taught to respect nature. She grew up loving the land, plants, and animals that surrounded her—from the giant mugumo trees her people, the Kikuyu, revered to the tiny tadpoles that swam in the river.

Although most Kenyan girls were not educated, Wangari, curious and hardworking, was allowed to go to school. There, her mind sprouted like a seed. She excelled at science and went on to study in the United States. After returning home, Wangari blazed a trail across Kenya, using her knowledge and compassion to promote the rights of her countrywomen and to help save the land, one tree at a time.

Seeds of Change: Planting a Path to Peace brings to life the empowering story of Wangari Maathai, the first African woman, and environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Engaging narrative and vibrant images paint a robust portrait of this inspiring champion of the land and of women’s rights.

Wangari’s story has inspired people around the world. In an interview, author Jen Cullerton Johnson says:

Wangari Maathai’s life is incredible. She is an environmentalist, scientist, and women’s right’s activist who inspired her country of Kenya to plant 30 million trees and in doing so helped give women skills to earn a living so they could feed their children. What moves me the most about Wangari’s story is her message of harabee, which means “let’s work together.” We can solve problems if we work together.

Awards and Honors:

Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in Illustrations, American Library Association

Amelia Bloomer Project, American Library Association

Notable Books for a Global Society, International Literacy Association

Wangari Maathai was the first African woman, and the first environmentalist, to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Pair this book with Twenty-two Cents: Muhammad Yunus and the Village Bankto learn about two trailblazing Nobel Prize winners whose contributions helped improve lives. Celebrate them together
Climate justice collection